1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recovery apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus having particular utility in the collection of a crop borne by an elongated, substantially continuous sheet rested on the earth's surface operable automatically to recover the crop from the sheet and condition it in such a fashion during such recovery as to be suitable for packing without further processing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The mechanization of agriculture under the impetus of dramatic increases in the cost of manual labor has produced a wide variety of devices directed to specific tasks. Labor intensive agricultural operations have, accordingly, been a particular focus of attention for such mechanization. Certain agricultural operations, however, have been plagued with problems inherent in the nature of the operation performed.
For example, the field drying of grapes to form raisins has traditionally been a highly manual labor intensive operation which has presented enduring obstacles to mechanization. Traditionally, the grapes are harvested by hand, placed on individual paper trays, laid on the ground and exposed to ambient sunlight and heat for the period of time required to dry the grapes to form raisins. Once the raisins are formed, the trays are in some cases rolled to cure the raisins therewithin. Finally, the trays are unrolled and the contents deposited in boxes which are then transported from the field. All of these operations require large crews of field workers, and thus, because of the cost of such manual labor, these operations have been the focus of attention for mechanization.
However, certain conditions associated with the field drying of grapes to form raisins present acute problems to such mechanization. Since the trays are laid on the earth's surface for rather extensive periods of time, extraneous material such as dirt, dust, leaves, rocks and other trash become intermixed with the raisins. Compounding this problem is the fact that the very process of drying the grapes to form raisins causes natural sugars to be released onto the tray forming a natural adhesive attractant to such extraneous materials. This also causes the raisins to adhere to the tray.
The present state of technological development includes a variety of approaches, many of which include the use of a substantially continuous sheet of paper or composite material which extends substantially the entire length of the path between adjoining rows of grapevines in the vineyard. The grapes are, by various means, cut from the vines and deposited on the sheet for drying. Various devices have been developed for collecting the raisins once formed on the sheet after drying. For example, the Olmo et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,577 is directed to one such device. The device has a carriage which advances along the sheet to pick up the end of the sheet and tension it as the carriage advances. The raisins are brushed from the sheet into a receiver for collection.
Notwithstanding efforts toward mechanization, prior art devices continue to be plagued by a wide variety of difficulties. These include damaging the crop, picking up extraneous material during the recovery operation, an inability to separate extraneous material from the crop, tearing of the sheet during attempts to feed the sheet through the device, jamming of the sheet within the device, inadequate separation of the crop from the sheet and a host of similar problems resulting from the conditions within which such devices must operate. Furthermore, because of these difficulties, more manpower is required than would be desired to keep the device operating.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a recovery apparatus capable of recovering crops from a tray rested on the earth's surface without picking up additional extraneous material in the process, with the capability of separating extraneous material from the crop, which can dependably remove substantially all of the crop from the sheet, which is not afflicted with the propensity to tear the sheet or to jam, and which can be operated dependably and efficiently by a single operator to perform its associated functions.